One Night
by zyxw
Summary: Sam never imprinted on Emily but Jake imprints on Leah. Ron breaks Hermione's heart and one night she and Sam meet. This is what happens next.
1. Chapter 1

Sam had tried to be a gentleman, truly he had. He had offered to pay for her cab back to her hotel but then something else had slipped out as well. "Or you could come back to my place," he'd offered almost shyly.

It had completely caught him off guard when she blushed and accepting, sliding next into the closest cab and patting the seat for him to join her.

"La Push," he told the guy before giving more detailed instructions. He couldn't believe he was really going to do this. Sam had only ever slept with one woman, a woman he was trying to forget at the moment. And now here he was taking a beautiful, drunk stranger back to his house for the night. He'd always been on the shy side, up until about two years ago he was tall, skinny and awkward looking. He couldn't believe his luck when Leah had agreed to date him. And she was the only woman he'd ever been with. No other girls had given him the time of day before the change. Now they did of course. Even this one had gasped slightly when he sat next to her. It had taken a while for him to work up the courage to talk to her but when that Forks townie idiot Mike finally left the seat next to her empty her saw him chance and he took it.

He barely got the address out when and intoxicating smell overpowered him. It was her. He hadn't noticed it earlier because the room was so large that even sitting next to her it drifted right past but now, in the cramped backseat made even smaller by his large, muscular form, it enticed him, tantalized him. He had to have her. So he did. He closed his eyes, lifted her chin and kissed her. It was tender for a moment but then he let his other side take over. The wolf wanted this woman. He wanted to ravish her, to have every bit of her for himself. She was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted and for a moment he felt for those damned bloodsuckers that had come in and turned his whole world upside down. He wanted more. She'd been tentative at first too but now she wasn't holding anything back. She was kissing him with just as much force as he left his hands explore her over her clothing.

"Can you just pay me and get out already?" the driver ordered. "We've been sitting in your driveway for five minutes!"

Sam blindly felt for his wallet in his back pocket, pulled the money out and threw it at the man, never once breaking contact with her. He slowly crawled backwards out of the car, lifting her out when his feet touched solid ground. The cab sped away. He didn't put her down, instead he placed his hands on her firm thighs and spread her legs open, wrapping them around his waist so that she could feel what she was doing to him. She moaned softly against his lips as they made their way to his front porch.

Pushing her against the wall, he groped for the door knob. He wanted her and he wanted her now. He'd take her on the porch if he had to.

Finally, success! The door flew open and he walked them both inside, through the living room and into his bedroom where he swiftly deposited her on the bed.

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><p>an: I just can't write smut. I'm sorry. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!

Enjoy!

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><p>Hermione rushed to get dressed before the man sleeping next to her could wake up. She'd never done anything like this before. But she was away from home and she'd just heard of Ronald's engagement to Lavender and she was so upset. How could he do that to her? After all they'd been through together he cheated on her with Lavender Brown, gotten the twat pregnant and now they were going to be married. That trollop was going to wear the ring that Molly had promised to Hermione! She was completely heartbroken when Ginny had called the night before.<p>

She was in the States sorting some vampire thing out for the ministry when her best friend called to tell her the news. Harry and Ginny were worried that she'd read it in the Prophet before someone had the chance to tell her personally so they decided not to wait to break the news in person.

Hermione did what any scorned woman would do. She got drunk! In the small town of Forks, Washington she pounded back shots of tequila until she couldn't see straight anymore. There was a man there that seemed to be drowning his own sorrows. They got to talking, never once making eye contact over the dingy table as he ordered each of them shot after shot. He was drinking whiskey. She didn't know what came over her but at the end of the night when he offered to pay for her cab and gave her the option of going to her hotel alone or back to the reservation with him she decided she didn't want to sleep alone again that night.

Now here she was rushing to leave before he stirred and thanking Merlin that she was going back to London at the end of the day. She took one last look at his sleeping form before exiting he small cottage. At least it hadn't been the drink. He really was as attractive as she thought.

~One night~

Sam woke up feeling strange. He felt better than he had in days, weeks, months even. But where had she gone. He wanted more of her, much more of her, but she wasn't there any longer. The last thing he remembered was he sleeping on his chest after a very fun few hours in the bedroom. He'd kissed the top of her head and fallen asleep to fantasies about round two. She was his solice, his refuge. Where was she?

He'd just heard of Jake and Leah a few days earlier and stayed away for as long as possible afterward. He knew it wasn't Jake's fault and that the younger man would never do anything to purposely hurt him. Jake had always looked up to him and Billy took Sam in like his own son after Sam's dad split. He was the same age as Jake's older sisters and they were friends as children. He knew Jake was consumed with guilt over it all. He would've known all of that even if he couldn't read Jake's thoughts. But he could and he heard him every time they patrolled. He'd think of Leah and immediately beat himself up over it.

Leah tried to fight it as well, he knew. She was determined to stay by Sam's side, claiming that she only saw Jake as a brother. Then the unexpected happened. She phased as well. After a few weeks away from everyone she agreed to go to a council meeting held around a bonfire on the cliff. That was it. She looked at Jake and in a moment Sam knew. Still, she tried to fight it but she couldn't any longer. She had broken up with him months earlier but it wasn't until a few nights ago that she started dating Jake.

It didn't just hurt. It killed. He didn't want to hate them so he decided to take off for a while. He ran around northern Washington for a few days before returning to Forks last night and stumbling into that bar.

She was cute, that British woman that stumbled into him on her way to order another shot. It took him a while to work up the courage to talk to her but after a few shots of his own he was set. They spent the rest of the night drinking and listening to each other's sob stories, though he knew he couldn't tell her everything and he was pretty sure she was holding back to. At the end of the night he had half-jokingly invited her home with him and was shocked when she agreed. But he went with it. She was gone when he woke up naked the following morning. He expected to wake up ashamed and miserable with the same gut-wrenching he'd been experiencing for the past few months but he didn't. Instead he woke up feeling lonely and a little sad but nothing like it had been just twelve hours earlier.

"Dude, who was that?" Jared asked.

Sam had finally made his way out the front door to sit on the porch and clear his head and saw his best friend approaching from the street.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked as he stretched and took a deep breath of morning air.

"That girl that I saw sneaking off a few minutes ago. She's hot."

"Did she just leave?" Sam asked wondering if he could catch up to her on her way off the res.

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><p>an: Review!


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione sat at the Weasley's kitchen table surrounded by red-heads and Harry. It was her first time she'd been to a Weasley dinner since she and Ron had broken up and it was hard. He was gone of course. He found out that Lavender had been cheating on him, called off the wedding and told everyone he needed time alone to think. Molly hoped that the thinking would lead to him begging Hermione for forgiveness and them planning the wedding again within months.

"Excuse me," Hermione barely got out before running from the table up the stairs and into the loo where she proceeded to rid her body of everything she'd eaten that day, or possibly week.

"What's with her?" George asked. He'd been returning from the living room when she'd shoved past him in the doorway on her way out.

"She's been feeling ill for a while now," Harry shrugged.

"Oh, the poor dear," Molly cooed. "How long?"

"Few weeks I'd say. It's not all the time, though. Just when there's food around. And it's not all foods, either. She's been eating the strangest things lately. Two days ago, she asked me to bring her chocolate ice cream and a pickle on my way back from a briefing a new auror about the well…I'm not really allowed to say what it was about."

Molly stared, wide-eyed at her son-in-law for a long moment before sprinting from the kitchen and up the stairs with Ginny close behind.

"Bloody hell," George laughed. "The women in this house are going nutters."

Moments later they heard squeals from upstairs. And moments after that Hermione reappeared crying with both Weasley women hot on her heels.

"I don't understand," Molly questioned. "This means you and Ron can get back together. You're carrying his child."

"WHAT?" the men in the room yelled in unison as Hermione continued to break down.

Ginny was there with a supportive arm around her friend.

"What's wrong?" Molly continued to questions while the twins went into a rant about how Hermione could really do much better and Harry started pacing the floor.

It just wasn't possible, he knew. Hermione and Ron had never…

"It's not Ron's, Mum," Ginny finally spoke. "She and Ron never…well…you know."

"Then who?" Arthur asked this time. They'd only known Hermione to have three boyfriends ever and Ron was the most recent and if it wasn't his that only left an unthinkable option.

"The Native American from Washington?" Ginny asked Hermione as she helped her friend sit. The group had moved to the living room to keep Hermione from throwing up again.

Hermione nodded. "Sam."

"I'll kill him!" Harry shouted.

"Harry!" Hermione tried to shout over the now-angry commotion.

"I'm with you, Harry," Fred agreed. "He hurt her, he's dead!"

"He didn't hurt me!" Hermione protested.

"Well then how the bloody hell did you get pregnant?" George demanded. "He forced himself on you, didn't he?"

"No!" she protested further, horrified at the conclusion they'd drawn. "It wasn't like that! It was my choice completely. He was very kind! He offered to pay for my taxi back to my hotel and I…I chose to go with him to his house instead."

The room was silent.

~One Night~

He hadn't caught up to her and strangely no one else had seen her at all. Some of the pack members were starting to think that Sam and Jared had made the woman up so he didn't seem so pathetic in front of Jake and Leah who were seen happily strolling hand in hand for the past three months while he walked around in a melancholy stupor.

He knew it wasn't Leah's new relationship and happiness that was getting to him, though. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but something just felt off since he came home.

He considered trying to find Hermione. He had some money saved. Maybe he could go to England. No, that was no good. It was a big country. Well maybe not as big as the United States—or the States as she had called them—but big enough that he was bound to have trouble finding her. Maybe a private investigator then? Yeah, then what would he do? Call her up and just say hi. He knew she must've left before he woke up because she didn't think he wanted her there when he did.

"So she's real?" Seth asked. They were patrolling near the main road leading into the reservation and Sam had mistakenly let his mind wander again.

"Yes, she's real," he bit back.

"Woah calm down! I'm just checking on you! We worry about you. Not just me either. Mom, Leah, Jake, Billy, the pack! It's been two months though, man. Shouldn't you be over it by now? She was just a one night stand right?"

Sam fought back his anger. He didn't even know why he was so angry. Seth had a point. It's not like he imprinted on the girl. He hadn't even been able to look her in the eyes, he was so ashamed of what he was doing, what they were doing. But since that night, he barely thought of Leah anymore. He was focused on Hermione and he knew if he could just see her again it would make things better.

"Damn man! Maybe you should've looked into her eyes." It was Paul this time.

"Why?" If he were a man instead of a wolf right now it would've come out as and exhausted, slightly frustrated sigh.

"Because you sound hooked, dude. And what other reason could it be?"

a/n: Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione was currently curled in the fetal on Harry and Ginny's living room floor. It was Saturday morning, two months after she found out she was pregnant and six weeks after Ginny got the same news. Today the best friends were planning on looking at cribs, strollers, playpens, all the things that weren't gender specific. It was just for ideas of course. It was far too early to actually be buying these things. Since she found out that Ginny was pregnant as well, however, Hermione had been far more excited about her own predicament. The past month had been hard though.

The baby was kicking and from the way it kicked, she felt like she had swallowed David Beckham. The pain was debilitating. And it only got worse when she was around Harry. He was just so negative about the pregnancy, and about Sam. She didn't know what to do. She wanted him to be happy for her, to be a part of her baby's life. After all, she had no intention of looking Sam up and telling him and her baby needed a strong man in its life. She knew no stronger than Harold James Potter.

Currently, however, Harold James Potter was cursing Sam at the top of his lungs. Ron had been there and of course, as Ron so often was, he was blissfully clueless as to what was going on as Harry summoned Draco.

"You were there with her!" Harry demanded. "Where's he live?"

Draco was reluctant to answer but when he looked past Harry to his friend struggling to stand from the floor he answered, "La Push, Washington. That's all I know."

Harry disappeared with a loud crack. Hermione followed as soon as she could stand again.

~One Night~

Sam swam slowly to the shore of First Beach. He was the last one in. The entire pack was there. They didn't have any patrolling to do till sun down and no one was working that day. He made it to shore and was shaking the water from his hair when they all heard a loud crack. It was almost like thunder, but the sky was clear and the sunset was beautiful. Another loud crack sounded as they looked around them puzzled.

"Harry, stop it!"

Sam knew that voice. It was her. The girl from the bar. Hermione. She was back.

"Where does he live, 'Mione?" a man ordered angrily.

"I'm not going to tell you that!" she replied, indignant, as they passed the line of trees, reached the sand and came into view of the many werewolves standing shirtless on the beach.

"Oh, you bloody well will," he scoffed.

"And how do you intend on making me?"

The man was around five foot ten with messy black hair, round glasses and a strange scar on his forehead. He was wearing sweats and a tee shirt and looked as though his morning coffee had just been rudely interrupted.

"I don't have to make you!" he replied. "I'll bust down every door here until I find him!"

Hermione had made her appearance now as three more cracks could be heard in the distance. She was wearing a flowing cream colored dress with a green flower pattern. Her hair was tied in a twisted bun and a small flower stuck out from the side and there was something very calming to Sam about her presence though he still wasn't sure why.

"You wouldn't dare! The aurors-"

"Aren't going to bloody arrest their boss!" Harry cut her off then turned to finally look where he was going. He didn't miss a beat. "Is he here then?" he asked blocking her from their view as his hand closed on what looked to be a stick in the waist band of his sweats.

She didn't answer but she didn't need too. Sam had given it away as he gasped for breath and stared at her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered.

She stared a moment too. He really was beautiful with russet colored skin stretched over rounded muscles. His bare chest was large and strong. Water dripped down it to his toned stomach and further. His black hair was damp making it a few shades darker and his deep black eyes seem to bore into her own, as if he was searching deep within her. He was like a god, even better than she remembered.

"You then?" Harry asked as he approached the much larger man. "You did this to her?"

"Harry!" she pleaded but there was no stopping him.

"What the hell are you? What spawn did you put in her?"

"Spawn?" Jared asked, see that his friend was too stunned to respond and wondering if what they were hearing was really true. They now had the attention of all present as three more people broke through the trees, a petite red headed woman with a swollen stomach, a tall lanky red headed man, and a muscular blond man with steel blue eyes.

Hermione blushed as the other woman and the blond man approached her, speeding up when she whimpered and clutched her stomach. "I'm fine, Harry! There really is no need for this!"

"No need?" Harry rounded on her. "I've seen you beaten within inches of life, tortured to the brink of insanity and I was there the day your parents died, 'Mione! And I've never, not once, seen you cry. You've never screamed in pain! Never let go the slightest hint that you may be hurting! Then HE puts this THING inside of you and it's breaking you from the inside out! Madam Pomfrey said you have five cracked ribs from the kicking and you're only four bleeding months along!"

"It's not a _thing_, Harry!" she protested looking hurt. "It's a baby! It's my baby!"

"Harry, you're overreacting," the other woman told him. "She needs our support right now! You're only making things worse!"

"Yeah, Potter, give her a break. She's having enough trouble as it is!" the blond man agreed.

"You're pregnant?" Sam finally choked out and Hermione blushed deeper.

"I'm so sorry," she explained. "I didn't want to bother you with this. I know you probably never expected to see me again…"

Everyone grew silent as he slowly approached her, falling to his knees in front of her and placing a hand on either side of her slightly rounded stomach. He rested his forehead against it and smiled.

"I'd say he's taking it a lot better than you thought he would," the blond man told her with a small smile.

"Don't encourage it!" Harry ordered. "I swear you work together for a couple years in the ministry and all of a sudden you think you're best mates!"

"He did save our lives Harry," Hermione defended.

"And how many bloody times did we save his fucking life?"

"Just think of it this way, Potter. I was in Forks with her on that assignment. If I'd gone out with her that night, this could've been my kid! How would you like that?"

"Really Malfoy?" Harry challenged, pulling himself up to his fullest height. "You really want to remind me that you left her alone that night and maybe none of this would've happened at all if you had just been there for her as a friend in her time of need."

"I'M NOT A BLOODY CHILD!" Hermione yelled shocking everyone. "I don't need a damned chaperone! Yes, Harry, I went out the night I found out that my ex-fiance was engaged to someone else! Yes, I got drunk! Yes, I went home with a bloody stranger! And yes! I got pregnant! It's not Malfoy's fault! It's not Sam's fault! It's MINE!"

"Well, it is partly Sam's fault," Jared pointed out. "I mean, it does take two, right?"

"What's your name?" Hermione asked calmly turning toward him.

"Jared," he answered with a smile and extended hand, "Sam's best friend."

"Lovely to meet you Jared," Hermione took his hand. "But you're really not helping right now. It's not good to make Harry mad."

"This isn't mad?" a younger looking man asked.

"That's Seth," Jared introduced.

"Nowhere close, I'm sorry to say," Hermione replied just as Harry grabbed Sam's shoulder and pulled him away from Hermione.

The rest of the men got angry at the sight and looked ready to attack until Sam held up one hand, quieting them easily.

"Harry! Don't be such an arse!" Hermione yelled as she stooped to help Sam up from his spot on the ground.

"YOU'RE PREGNANT!" the final man who arrived shortly after Hermione and Harry finally spoke.

"Yes, Ronald, she's pregnant," the other woman spoke up. "I swear mum dropped you on your head as a baby! Bloody moron!"

"I just thought she was getting fat!"

Sam got angry at this. He let out a feral growl that excited Hermione in a way she didn't understand and would never admit to. His friends seemed to be waiting for something. They knew it to be the explosion but Hermione, left in the dark and unaware that anyone would defend her beat him to it. The lanky man was approaching her from behind when she swiftly rounded on him, throwing her fist into his face. It connected and he fell to the ground unconscious.

"YES!" Malfoy shouted! "YES! BLOODY BRILLIANT! Merlin, where's Creavey with his camera when you need it! Beautiful, 'Mione! I mean it! Beautiful!"

"Really, Draco," the ginger woman scolded, "Now is not the time!"

"Not the time?" Draco replied. "Not the bloody time? I flinch every time she flips her hair for the past eight years and every time that idiot laughs at me! EVERY BLOODY TIME! Now he'll know what it's like to be on the wrong end of Granger's fist!"

"If he remembers," one of the large men behind Sam commented. "That really was an amazing hit."

Hermione didn't notice. She was cradling her injured hand with her good one as Harry and Sam argued over who should be allowed to help her. The blond man simply pointed his stick at her hand, whispered something and watched as she made a fist then extended her fingers a few times. "Thanks, Draco," she replied then whimpering again fell to the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam paced the floor in his small and now very crowded living room. Billy Black was there along with the rest of the elders. Draco and the two gingers were there as well along with a few members from the pack. Two other women who Harry greeted as Madam Pomfrey and Mum had been called from England and were now in Sam's bedroom with Harry, Hermione, and Sue Clearwater.

"Well you obviously slept with her," one of the elders was saying. "Did you look into her eyes before today?"

Sam simply hung his head, ashamed of the way things were shaping up for him and Hermione.

"I'll take that as a no," Billy offered. "I think your body knew. It knew before your brain did that you'd met your match and that's why you've been so depressed lately. You had her and let her go without even realizing it."

"But what about the kid?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean what about the kid?" Billy snapped. "It's your kid! You take care of your kid!"

"I mean is it like me? Already?" Sam defended. "Are you kidding me? Of course I'm going to take care of my kid, Billy! And Hermione! I love them! I'm not my father!"

"I know," Billy replied after a long silence. "I'm sorry. I just don't like to see you hurting and regrets cause pain."

Sam only nodded before turning to his guests. "Has it been this bad the whole time?"

The woman shook her head. Her name was Ginny, Sam knew now. She was Harry's wife and about as far along as Hermione at the moment. "It's only been the past few weeks," she explained. "My mum says this is around the time that the baby starts to hear and understand things around it and its mothers feelings. It only kicks hard when Hermione's upset. More often than not it's my idiot brothers or husband that's making her angry."

"I think it might be like you," a third tribe member told Sam. "If she's angry there's a good chance he is too and you know what happens when you get angry."

"She hit me! I can't believe she bloody hit me," Ron, the male ginger, kept repeating to himself.

"Well I can't believe she planned on marrying you at one point," the blond man Hermione had called Draco replied sarcastically. "She's just full of surprises isn't she?"

Sam growled again. This was him? This was the Ron that had broken her heart? This was the man that was supposed to be her best friend?

"What the hell's your problem?" Ron asked. "What's with the damn growling?"

"He's a shape-shifter you idiot!" Draco replied, much to the surprise and amusement of everyone there. "Didn't you read the damn report? You're an auror! It's your job! He's a wolf!"

"A shape-shifter?"

"She dropped you on your head, I swear it!" Ginny told him for the second time that day. "Did you not pay attention at Hogwarts at all? It was first year Defense! Even without her report you should've been able to tell!"

"I'm sorry," Billy interrupted. "What exactly are you?"

"We're wizards," Draco clarified.

"Wizards?" Sam asked. "Like Merlin in King Arthur's court?"

"Well, yes," Ginny told him. "Merlin was definitely the most talented wizard of his time and definitely well known to muggles."

"Most of us try to keep it under-wraps though," Draco continued. "We were sort of driven underground after the dark ages. It wouldn't really do to reveal ourselves now. Sort of like you."

Sam just nodded. He could deal with all of this later. Right now he wanted to know how Hermione was, how his child was. Why wouldn't that Harry guy let him into the room? It was his damned room? Hell, his house! He'd already tried to enter the room five times. Each time he was lightly pushed backward by some invisible force. He knew it was that Harry guy!

"So Hermione's a wizard too then?" Seth asked. It didn't matter if he wanted or need this information at the moment, Sam was going to get it anyway.

"Well a witch, yes," Ginny answered. "The correct term for a woman is witch."

"So she can do magic and stuff?" Seth asked then without waiting for an answer continued. "That's so cool!"

Ginny laughed lightly at his antics.

"Does that mean that the kid's going to be able to do magic?"

Sam groaned, considering kicking Seth out. But then he'd have to kick out Jake and Leah and the remaining pack members. He knew they were all wondering. Seth was just the only one willing to do the asking. Of course if he were gone someone else would speak up. Sam opted for sitting in an easy chair and burying his face in his hands.

"Not a chance," Ron replied.

Ginny and Draco both shook their heads.

"You never listened to a word she said did you?" Ginny barked angrily.

"What are you on about?"

Ginny was on the verge of an explosion. Seeing this, Draco intervened. "Her discovery, you sod! Hermione discovered, two years ago, when you were still dating, that the reason muggle-borns are able to do magic without any magical blood is because they have access to areas of their brain that most muggles don't. The average muggle only access to ten percent of their brain. The average muggle-born has access to about half of theirs. Hermione has access to one hundred percent of hers making it more likely that any child she has, regardless of who the father is will be magical. Sam is a shape-shifter meaning there is at least some magic in him as well so yes, it is very likely that any child of theirs will have magical ability." Draco stopped a moment, seeming to weigh his words wisely before continuing, "Sam, have you ever taken an intelligence test?"

Sam's head shot up at hearing his name. "You want to know how smart I am?" he asked, confused.

"Scientific curiosity," Draco shrugged.

"He was our class valedictorian," Leah replied, a hint of pride in her voice, "and had a perfect score on his SATs."

"He had offers for full scholarships at every ivy league school in the country," Billy added. "And Oxford."

"So definitely more intelligent than most," Ginny observed.

"That kid's going to be magical," Draco added. "I can almost guarantee it!"

Sam buried his face again.

Completely off topic, Ron spoke again. "So we'll need to set up some sort of custody arrangement."

Sam's anger flared as he stood throwing the chair back in the process. "Excuse me?" he asked as the pack moved in front of him. Leah ushered Ginny out of harm's way.

"Well, Hermione and I are getting back together. I'm assuming you want contact with your child. I wouldn't mind giving you full custody so we can start our own family but I highly doubt 'Mione would agree to that."

Sam could feel his body tensing up. Hermione was back with this loser. He was an idiot! He cheated on her! He never listened to her! What was she thinking?

"Get out!" Ginny and Draco yelled together.

"I'm not leaving my fiancé here!" Ron argued.

"She hasn't been your fiancé in a year!" Ginny responded. "You are NOT back together! You will NEVER be back together! Hermione has more respect for herself and to be completely honest you can do BETTER! I mean obviously!" she motioned to Sam before continuing. "LEAVE!"

"This isn't your house," was his only response.

"No, it's mine," Sam bit out. "And I want you out!"

Ron stalked out and after a few moments the men in the pack relaxed and moved away from Sam as Leah escorted Ginny back to the couch.

"I'm so sorry," the small woman told him. "I know I've overstepped my boundaries telling him to leave but he's just such an idiot sometimes I can't help myself. He makes me so angry! I don't know how he ended up like that."

Sam laughed slightly. "It's fine," he assured her. "I would've done it myself but I didn't want to offend you or Hermione."

Ginny nodded and looked ready to say something else but was cut off by a large yawn.

Seeing this Sam looked at the clock on his wall. "It's getting late," he stated. "Let me make up the extra bed for you."

"I guess that's our cue to go," Jake offered before ushering people out. "I'll take over patrols for the night," he offered. "Jared, I'm assuming you want to stay here?"

Jared nodded as Sam disappeared into the other room. When he returned only Jared, Ginny, and Draco were waiting for him.

"You really don't need to make up a bed for me," Ginny told him. "Time difference. I probably just need a short nap."

"I don't mind, really," Sam replied. "I'll probably keep you up for hours if you try to nap in here anyway."

"Thank you," Ginny replied with a small smile as Draco helped her into the room.

"So…uh…" Sam didn't know what to say to his best friend.

"Dude! You imprinted! How's it feel? Wait! I know how it feels! But you're going to be a dad! How's that feel?" Jared was rambling. It was a habit of his, Sam knew. It happened every time he got excited.

Sam didn't even have to think about it. "It feels good," he replied with a smile.

"Can I ask you something?" Draco said as he re-entered the room.

"Yeah, sure," Sam answered.

"Why didn't you go away to school?"

Sam gave a wry laugh. "I phased," he answered. "That changed everything. The leeches came, I phased, and I had to stay and protect the tribe."

Draco nodded. "And you imprinted on 'Mione?"

"You know about that?"

Draco nodded. "I studied it in school."

"I did."

"It's hard isn't it?" Draco asked. "Not having any control over your own life? I know the feeling."

"It got a whole lot easier today, actually," Sam corrected. "You were here with her?"

"Yes, we're partners in the Department of Equality. We were here investigating the vampire activity. By the way, if she hears you call them leeches you're in for an earful."

"She likes them?" Jared asked.

"She believes in equal right for all," Draco clarified.

"And you?"

"It's a nice thought."

"She said you saved her life?" Sam asked needing to know what that meant.

"And what was all that stuff Harry was saying about torture and beatings and her parents?" Jared added.

"My father was a sociopath," Draco informed them. "That's how I know how it feels to have no control over my own life. You see, Harry's godfather was my mother's cousin but Sirius—that's his godfather—he was brave and my mum did what she was told whether she agreed with it or not. Her parents arranged the marriage to my father and when she started showing signs of agreeing with Sirius, my father started controlling her with a curse. Then I came along and showed her weaknesses, as he called them. He beat her and tortured her to control me. Hermione's beatings and torture took place in my dining room. They were keeping her alive simply because I wouldn't identify them—her, Harry, and Ron. While my aunt was beating her, my father was beating my mother. She knew I was close to breaking and identifying them so she told me not to, not to have their blood on my hands. He killed my mum but I wouldn't let them kill 'Mione. I can't stand Ron and I've only recently started to tolerate Harry, but 'Mione…I couldn't let her die. She's so good and so pure and the world needs people like her. If I'm completely honest I may have let them have Harry or Ron separately at the time but not with her."

Sam was silent for a long time before he finally asked, "Why were they torturing her?"

"That's not really my place to say," Draco answered with tears in his eyes. "I've probably said too much already. I should get going, actually. Tell Hermione I went to the ministry to finish that report for her?"

Sam nodded.

a/n: Please review. You might have to wait till the weekend for the next update…school


	6. Chapter 6

Night turned into morning as Sam and Jared waited. Ginny was more tired than she originally thought as she hadn't woken up. Sam just wanted into the bedroom but Harry still wasn't allowing it and he hadn't yet figured a way around it.

"You get used to it," Ginny told them as she entered the room. "Harry and Hermione have been best mates for a decade. He will always protect her as if she were his baby sister. I don't think there's any way around it. But eventually it's gets less and less annoying until you just see it as the way things are."

"It doesn't bother you?" Sam asked.

She shook her head. "Harry's kind of a big deal in our world. Hermione's the only woman I know that never did have any romantic intentions toward him actually."

Just then a loud crack and a startled scream were heard outside of the door. Then came the pounding knock.

"Good afterno- morning," Draco greeted.

"Are you going to be doing that often?" Leah asked as she entered the house ahead of him, her arms loaded with food. "I figured you didn't have time to cook and I know you can always eat," she explained.

"I have the ability to just drop in anytime that I feel a need," Draco answered her as he too entered. "But I don't actually intend on doing it often, no. I'm actually here to get Harry off your back." The last part was directed at Sam.

Jared was eating already. Sam was getting a plate out for Ginny.

"Something wrong at the ministry?" Ginny asked as she sat with her plate.

Draco shook his head. "Not the ministry, the Prophet." He held the paper up for her to inspect and she snatched it out of his hands.

"Harry!" she called at the top of her voice. "Get out here now."

Harry sprinted into the room. "I'm so sorry, Love," he cooed as he knelt in front of her. "There were a few complications to work through."

Sam started running toward the door and was pushed back with more force than usual this time. "I'm getting really tired of that!" he barked at Harry. "It's my house. It's my kid."

"And it's my best mate!" Harry finished. "And you and I have a few things to discuss."

"Harry," Ginny admonished.

Harry took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Sorry," he told Sam in a calculated voice. "I understand that what I said about complications may have sounded as though Hermione or the child are in trouble." He took another deep breath. "Neither is. The complications have more to do with her comfort level during the pregnancy which involves the living situation, which we need to discuss."

"You are aware Hermione is a grown woman, right Potter?" Draco questioned as he took the paper from Ginny and slid it into Harry's hand.

Harry simply ignored the gesture. "I'm well aware. I'm aware that she's my twenty two year old best friend who happens to be pregnant with a shape shifter that I'm pretty sure is phasing inside of her stomach every time she gets angry." Sam cringed at his words and felt sick to his stomach at the thought.

"It's phasing already?" Jared asked.

"He," Sue corrected as she too entered the room. "At least we're pretty sure it's a he. Most are."

"What do we need to discuss?" Sam asked.

"She needs to stay here," Sue answered seeing the way Harry bristled at the thought of verbalizing it. "Being near you is comforting to the baby and as you aren't in a position to leave the reservation at the moment, she needs to stay through the pregnancy. Also the older witch in there says that he'll stop phasing after birth and shouldn't phase again until puberty," she finished by answering Jared's earlier question.

"Okay," Sam breathed, pondering the implications of Hermione's living with him for the next five months. "So she stays here. That's great!"

"I'll be over every day to make sure you aren't trying anything. I will set up charms and curses and-," Harry warned.

"You do know you have your own pregnant wife to tend to, Harold?" Ginny questioned.

Harry seemed to consider this a moment. "Malfoy, Fred, George, Charlie, Bill, Ron, Neville or I will be over every day," he corrected.

"How many men does she know?" Leah asked, earning a growl from Sam and a glare from Harry, Draco and Ginny.

"You might want to look at that paper before you mention Ron," Malfoy informed him, choosing to ignore the woman's implied question.

Harry let out a deep sigh but obeyed. His eyes scanned the paper a moment before he angrily threw it on the table. "I'll kill him," he said in a deadly whisper through clenched teeth. "It really is the last straw this time! He's dead!"

"I'll have mum bring me home," Ginny informed him with a satisfied smirk.

"Would you like to help Malfoy?" Harry asked before leaning in to kiss his wife goodbye.

"I've already stopped by the twins' store," Malfoy laughed as he followed Harry out the door. He turned just before stepping off the porch. "I'll be by later with some of her things," he told Sam with a final wave.

"We should be off too," Sue told her daughter before hugging both men goodbye. "We've set up a check up schedule with the medi-witch."

Sam said his goodbyes before heading toward his bedroom door.

"Give my mum a minute, would you?" Ginny asked. "She has a hard time letting go of her babies."

Sam nodded and sat at the table next to Jared who was already reading the Prophet.

"None of it's true," Ginny informed them. "Mione's only had three boyfriends. Actually the only bit of truth to it is that she did date Viktor Krum but she never broke his heart. In fact it was quite the opposite. Skeeter's a lying gossip. In fact you're the only man she's ever…I really should shut up now."

~One Night~

It took a long time for Ginny's mother to say her goodbyes. Over an hour to be precise. It had given time for Ginny to explain a few things to Sam—after he'd asked Jared to leave of course. She told him about her own family taking her and Harry in as their own when they were young, about the two boyfriends Hermione had before Ron, and finally about the war and Hermione's parents. She'd joked that Skeeter was a lying gossip whereas Ginny was just a gossip. Sam liked the small woman that loved Hermione like a sister. She was funny and very comfortable to be around. But he was happy to see her go. That meant it was just him and Hermione now and he so desperately wanted it to be just the two of them again.

Once alone in the house, Sam stood in the doorway between his room and the hallway watching her as she tried to sleep. He knew she wasn't sleeping but he didn't know how he knew. Finally he asked the question that had been bothering him for months now.

"Why'd you leave?"

"I was a one night stand, Sam, and we both know it," she answered, rolling over so he could see her face. There were tear streaks down her cheeks.

"But-"

"A one night stand that you imprinted on and now you're stuck with."

"It's not like that!" he argued, scared that she was standing from the bed now and seemed to be getting ready to leave.

"But it is. You're obligated to love me. I really am sorry for all this. I didn't intend on tell-"

"You were just going to let me go through life without knowing I have a child?" Sam questioned, getting angry now. "Yes, maybe the way this started wasn't the best. It's not something I plan on telling our daughters about later or encouraging our sons to do. And it's definitely not a story for the grandkids but for you to not tell me…that just wouldn't be right. I mean, if you don't want me fine! I can be whatever you need, just tell me! But let me know my kid! Even if I hadn't imprinted and I didn't want you with the intense burning desire that I do now I would've helped with my kid. It's my kid!" She stepped away from him with a hint of fear in her eyes. After all he'd heard about her he doubted that fear was a common emotion for her and his anger dissipated immediately. He regretted it immensely. "I'm sorry," he told her in a pleading tone. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that you didn't-"

"No! You're right," she cut him off. "It was wrong of me. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he replied. "I've never been this happy in my life."

"But I just showed up and-"

"Made everything better," he finished for her.

Hermione blushed as she continued out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked as he put a hand up to stop her.

"The couch," she answered, attempting to sidestep him. "You look exhausted."

"You don't look much more energetic," he replied, standing in her way now and putting both arms out so she couldn't go any further. "I think Ginny's the only person who got any sleep last night."

"Exactly," Hermione agreed. "So you should. I'll take the couch and-"

"You'll take the bed and I'll take the spare room," Sam corrected.

"But it's your bed."

"And it's more comfortable and you should be comfortable. I can phase and curl up on a pile of leaves and be completely fine," he continued when she looked ready to protest again.

She nodded but continued toward the door.

"Where are you going?" he practically begged this time.

"The loo," she whispered, placing a very small hand on his side to guide him out of the way.

His skin goose fleshed at her soft touch and he knew she felt something too by the sharp intake of breath he heard from her. He was staring down at her now as she slowly lifted her head to look at him as well. It felt like electricity was coursing through him at her touch. He couldn't help himself. He had to have her. Even the slightest intimate touch would do. He cupped her face in his hands as he stooped to meet her lips with his own, moving swiftly so she couldn't pull away. Just like that first night in the car she was tentative at first but he persisted and within moments she looped her arms around his neck and fell into the kiss. It seemed far too short when he pulled away, gasping for breath. His forehead pressed to hers as he opened his eyes to stare into hers. "I wish I knew who to thank for this," he finally spoke between soft short kisses as he walked her backward toward the bed.

She fought him slightly.

"Just sleep with me," he told her. "That's all I'm asking…sleep. Lay in the bed next to me with your eyes closed and let me rest my hand on our child."

It was the sweetest thing she'd ever heard and she didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing. It didn't matter as she slowly nodded. "I still need the loo, though."

He kissed her again, just as intense but much briefer this time before letting her leave the room.

a/n: Sorry for keeping you waiting so long. I tried to update last weekend but was having trouble with my account. Then I didn't have time. Have a busy week ahead of me so don't know when I'll be able to update again but hope this holds you over. Review please. They make me smile!


	7. Chapter 7

Sam was angry. She left! Well it was more hurt than anger really. She said she'd stay. She was supposed to stay! And she left. He heard the soft pop as he was changing into a pair of clean boxers and mesh shorts. He didn't think anything of it as he dug through his drawers to find something from his younger days, something smaller that she could wear to sleep in. But then she didn't come back. He waited five minutes, then ten before looking for her. She was gone. That must've been the strange noise he heard.

Needless to say, Sam did what Sam does when he's angry. He phased. And now he was roaming the forest aimlessly wondering what he did so wrong for her to leave.

"Dude, seriously, you're driving me crazy!" Paul groaned.

"She's back," Leah told them. She'd been waiting close to the house to see if the woman returned and inform Sam. "With a man."

Sam sprinted toward home wondering what was going on. What man now? If it was Harry, Draco or that fucking idiot Leah would've just said his name. That meant this was a new man. Hermione and the man were sitting on the porch when he burst through the trees. She looked angry for a moment before she saw him and gasped in shock as her honey colored eyes took in his large wolf form. He retreated and returned again moments later clothed and in human form.

They were arguing now.

"I'm sorry 'Mione but Harry said-"

"Oh, Harry said! Harry said! Harry said! I'm a grown woman!" Hermione argued with the husky red-head. "But everyone's so damned concerned with what Harry mandates I do!"

"C'mon! Ron's been dealt with! You thought it was hilarious remember? It was just a few hours ago. You couldn't have forgotten it already!"

"Fred, stop it! You put me in a full body bind and carried me back here without my permission! I'm angry and I've every right to be!"

"I'm not saying you don't," the man soothed. "What I'm saying is let the pranking masters deal with their idiot baby brother for now while you worry about having this," he placed his hand on her stomach as he spoke, "angry little guy. And in five months I will personally hold the git down for you. I'll even give you a free hit on me because I know you're mad at me for the spell."

She considered this for a moment. It was just what the man was looking for as he turned to Sam who was approaching now, flanked by the pack.

"Hullo," he greeted with a goofy smile. "Name's Fred. I believe you met my mum, sister and the disappointment earlier."

"Sam," he answered back as he stared at Hermione who simply stood blushing. "I thought you took off again," he finished, speaking to Hermione.

"No," she replied quietly. "I just went to deal with Ronald."

"Did you punch him again?"

"No, Seth," she replied with a small smile.

"Good! I want to be there the next time."

"Seth," Sam warned.

"But I need the pointers."

"Leave," he commanded and the many Natives turned without argument.

"You're their alpha?" Hermione asked with her head cocked to one side.

He nodded.

"Interesting." She yawned half way through the word.

"You should get some sleep," Sam told her. "I left some of my old clothes out for you to sleep in earlier."

"Thank you," she replied with a smile before turning to Fred and wrapping her arms around his waist. He put his around her shoulders and squeezed tightly, closing his eyes and resting his head atop hers.

"Good night, Fred," she whispered.

"Night Angel," he replied before kissing the top of her head and letting her disappear into the next room.

"Angel?" Sam questioned filled with jealousy and sorrow. Was she taken this whole time? Had he misread everything? Was this guy the reason she didn't plan on telling him about his child? Did they want to raise it themselves? Together? Without him?

"As in guardian," Fred clarified. "She saved my life once. It made it much easier to forgive all the other stuff."

"During the war?" Sam questioned, not even bothering to hide the relief in his voice.

"Ginny?"

"How do you know Hermione didn't tell me?" Sam asked.

"I heard Harry didn't give you much time to talk earlier and it's not exactly something you'd tell a one night stand is it? Believe me; I've had enough since then to know."

"I really wish people would stop calling her that!" Sam moaned. "It's more than that."

Fred could see that Sam was getting upset. "Yes, during the war," he answered with a sigh. "The final battle, actually. I was crushed under a wall and knocked out. They all thought I was dead when they pulled me out because I was breathing so shallow. It wasn't till after it was all over and my mum and twin, George, were crying over me that she saw that I was still breathing. But just barely. She did that muggle thing where you press on the chest and breathe into the mouth. Everyone was mad at her, trying to pull her away but she kept going until Pomfrey was able to revive me. She's my guardian angel."

Sam was quiet a long time wondering just how much he didn't know about her. "What other stuff?" he finally asked.

"Oh, just being a bossy, rule-enforcing know-it-all back in school," Fred shrugged. "Actually it wasn't that that bothered me so much as it was finding out just how many rules she and Harry broke over the years. Bloody hypocrite!"

"My rule breaking was for a good cause!" Hermione insisted as she re-entered the room. "Sam, are you coming to bed with me tonight or did you get some sleep earlier?"

Just then it hit Sam how tired he really was. He hadn't slept in almost forty eight hours. She must be even worse off he decided as he said goodnight to Fred and followed her into the bedroom.

She waited for him to sit on the bed before approaching it herself. She stopped right in front of him and he wondered what was going on as she placed a hand on each of his shoulders. He was shocked when she lowered her face to his and kissed him softly on the lips. She persisted a moment before pulling away with a small frown on her face. It finally hit him as she started to crawl into bed and he grabbed her hips pulling her back into his lap and kissing her. It was tenderer than he expected. He wanted her. He needed her. But he was willing to wait for that. Right now he just wanted to show her how much he loved her. "Goodnight," he whispered with his eyes still closed and mouth still touching hers.

"Goodnight," she whispered back but stayed where he sat her until he lifted her down and placed her in bed.

~One Night~

Hermione was warm. Too warm. Feverishly hot was more of the description she would give. The sweats and long sleeve shirt Sam had let her borrow were clinging to the sweat that covered her skin. Her cheeks were cold, though, and so was her nose. Was she ill? She tried to sit up but panicked when she realized she couldn't. She couldn't move her upper body and there was a heavy weight on her chest. What was wrong with her? She attempted to summon her wand using wandless magic but at the moment was so panicked she couldn't remember where she'd set it before going to bed. It came anyway. She lifted her right hand up as high as she could—only a couple inches off the mattress—to grab it, but she missed and heard a soft thud as it collided with something that wasn't her hand.

"Ouch!" Sam moaned and suddenly the pressure in her chest disappeared as he lifted his head to inspect the room by the light of the early morning sunrise. "Was that your wand?" he asked rubbing his eye.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. It had been Sam the whole time. His head was lying on her chest as they slept causing the pressure and his arm was still wrapped around her abdomen, holding her in place. She let out a small giggle.

"It's funny, then?" he teased as he pulled his arm away from her.

She shook her head. "Not exactly," she replied, not able to make eye contact. "More of a relief, actually. I woke up covered in sweat and I couldn't sit up and my chest felt heavy. I thought I was ill."

Sam smiled down at her. "I should've thought of that," he told her. "My temperature runs hot, like I have a fever all the time. I should've gotten something cooler out for you to sleep in but I was worried because it was so cold last night. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I summoned my wand right into your eye. I can't believe it's not bruised."

"Fast healer," he assured her. "How about you take a shower to rinse all that sweat off and I'll try to find you something cooler to wear till Draco brings your things?"

Hermione nodded and silently left the room. When she returned twenty minutes later, the shades were drawn to block the sun and only a small lamp lit the room. Sam had changed the sweat soaked sheets and placed a glass of ice water near the bed. He was currently digging through his drawers to find something that might fit her.

"Can I have some of your water?" she asked.

He jumped at the sudden noise and spun around. He was silent for a long moment, taking in the sight of her. She was barefoot, wearing nothing but a small towel wrapped around her. She held it across the chest but let it hang low enough on her breast to cover other sensitive areas. It fell at her upper thighs and tried to peak open at her slightly swollen abdomen. Her hair hung dripping down her back. Sam swallowed hard. "It's, uh, it's for you. Thought you might be a little dehydrated."

Hermione blushed deeply as Sam continued to stare. Sitting on the bed she was careful to cover herself as much as possible as she reached for her wand. "Scourgify," she whispered, pointing the slender stick at her lace panties. They were blue, Sam's favorite color.

He turned away quickly when she returned his stare, still blushing. "I, uh, I couldn't find anything small enough for you that isn't sweats," he told her, his back still turned.

She slowly approached him from behind, coming to a stop just inches from him as she peered into the drawer. He wondered a moment if she even knew she was doing it. If she thought for one second about how hard she was making things for him or how sexy she was standing in nothing but a towel and those lacy blue panties mere inches from him. It was heaven and it was hell. He decided she probably didn't as he continued to stare into the drawer. Moments later she reached in, grabbed a pair of boxers and an old grey t-shirt and disappeared back behind him.

"Are you coming back to bed?" she asked after a few silent minutes.

He turned in time to see her crawling back into bed, the boxers and t-shirt now perfectly fitted to her.

"I'll change them back later," she promised as she laid down, pulling the sheet up to her waist.

Sam followed, lying next to her, rolled slightly on his side to face her. She turned the lamp off with a flick of her wrist and turned her head to look at Sam in the dim light. He simply smiled back. With a small smile of her own Hermione reached over her body to take Sam's hand. Intertwining their fingers she pulled his arm over her body and curled slightly into his side.

With a smile he kissed her cheek softly, laid his head next to hers and fell back asleep.

a/n: Ah, Spring Break…well kind of. I don't want to get into it, though. It's slightly depressing. Please review. They make me happy. I'll try to post more soon.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione awoke to a heavenly smell and beautiful sight the next morning. Sam was sitting next to her on the bed with breakfast ready on a tray on the table near them.

"You can cook?" she asked as she sat up stretching.

"You'd already know that if you hadn't left that day," he replied with a smile but she could hear the hurt in his voice.

"I didn't know what else to do," she whispered, turning away from him.

Sam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He didn't want it to be like this. He wanted to be happy, here, with her, for as long as possible. But he was so scared that she'd leave again. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I don't like how this is all going."

"Oh."

"No!" he clarified quickly. "Not you being here! I love that! You know I love that! I just wish it…I don't know…started differently. Stay in bed," he pleaded as she started to move. "Please. Have breakfast with me! I made it for you!" He wrapped his arms around her waist as he spoke and pulled her back toward him.

She didn't reply but she did stay and she did eat. He was surprised by how much she ate actually but then again she was eating for two.

"Can I ask you something?" Sam questioned after a long silence.

She chewed and swallowed before replying, "Of course."

"Last night," he started, "that kiss. What was that for?"

She blushed bright red before responding in a whisper. "I've wanted to kiss you again since I left here four months ago."

"Really?" he asked with a sly smirk on his face. So she wanted him too? At least physically. That was a good feeling. He'd take it for now at least and build to the rest later.

She simply blushed deeper and remained quiet.

Sam took that as his cue to move on. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable. He wanted her to want to stay there. He wanted her to be comfortable here, to make this her home for the time being, to make it harder for her to leave after their child was born. "I've wanted to as well," he confided.

~One Night~

Something was very different about the house when Sam arrived home the next morning. It was clean. Yes, he always kept the house clean but it was immaculate. The windows were spotless, the floor shined, there was no dust, no clutter. It smelled like vanilla and there were fresh cut flowers on the coffee table. For a moment he was afraid that he'd stumbled into a different house in his tired state. He spun around, taking in the entire room. No, there was the picture of him and his mother on the wall next to the door. And his shelves were full of the worn books he'd read and reread many times. This was his house. He continued into the kitchen where there were fresh muffins on the table along with a note.

_Sam,_

_Good morning. I took the liberty of cleaning last night. I couldn't sleep. There's fresh squeezed orange juice in the refrigerator and bacon and eggs in the oven. I hope you had a safe and productive night._

_Hermione_

He was worried a moment. Was she gone again? He walked swiftly to the bedroom. It was immaculate as well but she was lying in the middle of the bed sound asleep. He breathed a deep sigh of relief as he watched her breath steadily in and out. Her stomach wasn't large yet. Not as large as her friend's had been at least. It was only slightly swollen, enough that he could see it through the thick blankets. He wondered if that should worry him. Was the baby too small? Was she eating enough? Was the stress of it all too much for her? He had to remember to ask the medi-witch about that when she came on Friday.

He stood there watching her for a long time. Her cheeks were rosy. He wondered if she was cold. He'd remember to do some home improvements soon. He could handle the cold of living in Washington. His average body temperature was 106. Hers wasn't and she probably couldn't. He'd start today, he decided. He didn't have patrols again for a few days. Neither did Jared and he was sure he could get his best friend to help. He'd start once she woke up.

With another deep sigh he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He tiptoed to the kitchen, ate quietly, cleaned his mess, and left again for the hardware store in Forks.

~One Night~

Hermione yawned and stretched, wondering if Sam's bed was one of those specially made extra-long mattresses as she could stretch her arms all the way above her head and her legs as long as they'd reach and she still hadn't reached the ends of the mattress. She wondered if Sam was home yet. She couldn't sleep without him last night. She finished all of the paperwork Draco brought by for her and she was never too fond of television. She cleaned the entire house, scrubbed actually. She didn't even use magic. After that she lit some scented candles and floo called Luna who dropped by with flowers from her garden. After a few hours Luna left and Hermione started cooking. It was six in the morning before she finally felt tired and crawled into bed.

She hoped he was back. That paperwork was meant to last her a week and she finished it in two hours. It was surprisingly easy to get done when she wasn't being called away to a werewolf attack or house elf rebellion. Then she did anything and everything else that there was to do around the house and now she needed company. And she wanted it to be Sam instead of Harry or Draco or a Weasley of that Leah girl who seemed to be trying very hard to bond with her but they just weren't clicking.

"Hello, sleepy head," Sam greeted when she finally walking into the living room. He was sitting on the couch with Jared, Seth and Jake each taking a spot around the coffee table. They seemed to be looking at some sort of plans.

"Good morning," she greeted as she wrapped her oversized Harpies sweatshirt a little tighter around herself.

"Afternoon actually," Jake replied laughing. "Are you cold?"

"A little," she replied before pulling her wand from somewhere in her yoga pants and casting a warming spell on herself. "Better now, though."

"Quick question," Sam interrupted. "You did use magic to do all this cleaning right?"

"Would you like to hear that I did?" she asked taking a seat next to him on the couch.

"You didn't then." It wasn't a question and he didn't look happy.

"I needed something to do," she defended with a shrug.

"Shouldn't you be taking it easy, though?"

"It's fine, really! Madame Pomfrey says I can perform all my normal tasks as long as I take breaks when I'm tired and don't over exert myself."

"And you don't think this," Jared gestured around the room, "is overexerting?"

"If I wanted to be ganged up on I'd visit the Weasleys!" Hermione replied with a pout.

"I'm sorry, love," Sam replied as he wrapped his arm around her. "I just want to make sure that you and our baby are healthy."

The rest of the men in the room smirked when instead of pulling away Hermione leaned in closer to the warmth of Sam's body.

"I'm fine," she promised. "I just get bored easily. I need to keep busy."

"What about that stack of work Draco brought by?"

"Finished."

"All of it?"

She nodded. "What are you doing here?" she asked changing the subject.

"A little construction planning," Sam answered with a shrug.

"Planning for what?"

"Insolating the house a little better and fixing the water heater and furnace," Sam replied as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "I…uh…figured if you were going to live here I should probably fix a few things up."

"You lot don't have to do that for me," Hermione told them, obviously moved by the gesture.

"Does your magic keep you warm?" Seth asked as the other men shook their heads.

"Something like that," Hermione laughed. "I can cast warming charms. They haven't been lasting as long as they used to though. It probably has something to do with the pregnancy."

"Then you need the improvements as much as the house does," Jake replied.

"Well I do appreciate it," she told them with a smile before standing again and going into the kitchen.

Jared and Jake turned to Sam with matching smirks and raised eyebrows when she was out of sight. "So, how's that going there?" Jake asked.

Sam shrugged, blushing slightly. "It's difficult actually," he finally replied. "Maybe it's just the way it started. I mean, there's something there. Obviously for me but I think she feels it too but it's just hard. She's pregnant with my child and we've never even been on a proper date."

"Leah and I've never been on a proper date," Jake pointed out.

"That's different. You've been friends since you were kids. You knew each other your whole lives before you imprinted. 'Mione and I just met and-"

"Take her on a date then," Jared interrupted, speaking to both Sam and Jake. "It'll show that you're really interested in putting in the effort to build a relationship and that you don't just feel stuck. You need to keep in mind that just because you're bound to her doesn't mean she can't leave you."

"I think about that every day thanks," Sam practically growled.

"Then don't let her feel taken for granted," Jared snapped back before turning to Jake. "And you! Just because Leah's bound to you as well doesn't mean you can just neglect the actual relationship stuff. She's a woman! She wants to feel loved."

"You and Kim talk about us when we're not around don't you?" Sam asked with a hint of laughter in his voice. His best friend truly sounded like a woman right now.

Jared shrugged. "She said she really likes Hermione, wants her to stick around. She's already looking at baby gifts."

a/n: Sorry for the delay. Writer's block!


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for any inconvenience or disappointment but I've lost my inspiration on this fic and need to put it on hold indefinitely. I'll start working on the others again soon. I have ideas and just need time to write again. Once again, I'm sorry! I feel like I'm abandoning my characters and it's not a good feeling. But hopefully I'll figure it out soon.

~zyxw


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